Method and system to process payment using SMS messaging and a mobile-optimized web form

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method and system for processing payment/information, including receiving, by an electronic circuit of a mobile communication device, a payment/information processing statement for a customer by a short message service (SMS) message, the payment/information processing statement including an online payment/information URL personalized to uniquely identify the customer. Next, the online payment/information URL is extracted from the SMS, and a mobile-optimized web page is accessed using the online payment/information URL. A customer&#39;s online payment/information form is then received and completed by the customer, then forwarded to a secure payment form server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of and claims priority fromU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/305,392 for “METHOD AND SYSTEM TOPROCESS PAYMENT USING URL SHORTENING AND/OR QR CODES”, filed on Nov. 28,2011 by Douglas Schoenberg, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/215,122 for “METHOD AND SYSTEM TO PROCESSPAYMENT”, filed on Jun. 25, 2008 by Douglas Schoenberg.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to a method and system of paymentprocessing, and, more particularly, to a method and system of improvingand extending the use of personalized hyperlinks for online payments andother online constituent interactions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many payments, such as but not limited to those for child care, donationpledge commitment, membership renewals and other types of non-profitfinancial transactions are presently still made by check. Currentprocesses of billing for and collecting such payments are ofteninconvenient, for both the payer and the collecting organization.Attempts to introduce more automated means of payments, such aspreauthorized credit card and direct bank debit (ACH) payments, have hadlimited success due at least in part to the reluctance of payers totrust and agree to such methods.

Many systems for online payment require payers to login to an onlinesystem to display charges and make payment. This requires payers toregister, remember login information and generally reduces thelikelihood that payers will utilize such a system. Other systems thatdon't require a login typically require the payer to enter all of thedata each time they wish to make a payment. Entry of data each timeincreases the likelihood of entry error. Errors in entry may incur extracosts for declined or unsuccessful transactions and increase payerfrustration. Entry errors are especially problematic for ACH paymentswhere there is currently no system for real-time validation of theaccount information entered, and where the necessary bank routing andaccount numbers are potentially difficult for the payer to be certainof.

Thus, there is a need to adapt numerous new and evolving technologies toprovide a much simpler method of allowing payers to initiate one-timeand recurring payments by credit card or ACH payment with a minimum ofeffort. This method would also increase payer confidence so thatorganizations could encourage payers to more readily sign-up andtransition to preauthorized collection of payments due.

Use of a token, including use of a personalized hyperlink or secure URL,is taught by U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/215,122 for “METHOD ANDSYSTEM TO PROCESS PAYMENT”, filed on Jun. 25, 2008 by DouglasSchoenberg. It would be beneficial in the method and system presented bythis application to hide the data being passed as part of the secure URLand to generate a short and simple code that represents the underlyingdata.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention provides a payment processing methodand system, including emailing a billing statement to a payer by abiller, the billing statement including an online payment hyperlink. Theonline payment hyperlink includes a URL personalized for the payer and atoken uniquely identifying the payer, as well as other data, such asamount due and data to facilitate proper posting, such as accountingcodes. The online payment hyperlink is then selected by the payer, whois then presented with the biller's online payment form. The onlinepayment form includes data fields pre-populated with available payerinformation included in the link or stored and associated with the payertoken. The biller's online payment form is then reviewed by the payer,who completes and corrects the data as needed. The completed onlinepayment form is then sent to a secure payment form server by the payer.

In one aspect of the invention, the payer payment data is transmitted toan online payment gateway by the secure payment form server, and paymentis processed by the online payment gateway.

In another aspect of the invention, the online payment gateway's thepayment processing includes accessing a secure data vault to obtainpayer payment information, transmitting payer payment information to acredit/debit card network, receiving a transaction record from thecredit/debit card network, updating the form server data vault with thetransaction-record information, and updating the payer's available payerinformation in the secure data vault.

In one aspect of the invention, the payer is presented with an option toauthorize saving payment data to a hosted secure server, the payer thenauthorizes the saving of payment data, and the data is saved to a securedata vault.

In another aspect of the invention, the payer is presented with anoption to authorize automatic recurring payments to the biller, andauthorizes such payments. This aspect of the invention includes a methodfor recording an electronic signature of authorization.

In one aspect of the invention, the biller, may request email paymentnotices be sent to the biller's organizational contact and/or to thepayer. With this option, an email notice is sent to biller'sorganizational contact and/or the payer upon payment completion.

Another aspect of the invention includes the biller's organizationalcontact logging into the hosted secure form server and downloading thecompleted transaction records.

In another aspect of the invention, the biller may process additionalone-time payments initiated in person or by phone utilizing the samepayer token to reduce data entry and speed payment processing.

In another aspect of the invention, certain data such as the billerspecified G/L accounting codes, unique payer identifier, etc. are passedto the payment form but not displayed. This allows them to be recordedas part of the payment transaction to facilitate better handling of thedata when imported back into the organization's accounting system.

In another aspect of the invention, the online payment forms are easilycustomized to include the billing organization's logo, website colorscheme, instructions, security graphics, and other elements to ensurepayer confidence in providing sensitive credit card or bank accountdata.

In another aspect of the invention, URL shortening technology is used toboth hide the data being passed as part of the secure URL and generate ashort and simple code that represents the underlying data. This makesthe URL address easier to remember and enter into a web browser.

Another aspect of the invention provides the ability to use QuickResponse (QR) bar codes containing the personalized URL data, in orderto increase data security.

Another aspect of the invention provides a system and method, forpayment/information processing. An electronic circuit of a mobilecommunication, device receives a payment/information processingstatement for a customer by a short message service (SMS) message—thepayment/information processing statement includes an onlinepayment/information URL personalized to uniquely identify the customer.Next, the online payment/information URL is extracted from the SMSmessage, and a mobile-optimized web page is accessed using the onlinepayment/information URL. A customer's online payment/information form isthen received and displayed on the mobile communication device—withoutthe customer logging in or preregistering. The onlinepayment/information form includes data fields pre-populated withavailable customer information derived from the onlinepayment/information URL. After completing the online payment/informationform, the completed online payment/information form is sent to a securepayment form server.

In one aspect of the invention, the payment/information processingfurther includes forwarding a payment from the customer to a biller.

In another aspect of the invention, a customer information database isupdated with customer data.

Another aspect of the invention provides for registering financialpayment information. An electronic circuit of a mobile communicationdevice receives a mobile-optimized financial payment information formfor a customer, which is then filled in by the customer with financialpayment information, such as but not limited to credit card information.Next, the financial payment data is posted to a secure gateway forvalidation, and, upon validation, a personalized URL associated with thecustomer and validated financial payment data is received by theelectronic circuit of the mobile device.

In a further aspect, the personalized URL may then be sent, for exampleby email or an SMS message, to a payee to render payment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a payment processing system,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2( a) is a flowchart depicting a method of payment processing, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2( b) is a flowchart depicting a method of payment processing, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a method of payment processing includingoptional authorization of saving payment data, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4( a) is a flowchart depicting a method of payment processingincluding provision of email payment notices, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4( b) is a flowchart depicting a method of payment processingincluding downloading of completed transaction records by a biller'sorganizational contact, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting a method of payment processing includinggeneration and use of a shortened URL and optional generation of QRcodes, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary QR code, which is useful to understanding anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting a method of using SMS messaging totransmit a personalized hyperlink for online payment and other onlineconstituent interactions, which is useful to understanding an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting a method of using a personalized paymenthyperlink to register credit card or bank account information for lateruse, which is useful to understanding an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specificnumbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however,to one having ordinary skill in the art, that the invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-known,features may be omitted or simplified so as not to obscure the presentinvention. Furthermore, reference in the specification to “oneembodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearancesof the phrase “in an embodiment” in various places in the specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

The term “payer” referred to in the descriptions of various embodimentsof the invention herein described is intended to generally describe anyperson or company having a need or desire to make a payment to anybiller, or perform another activity, without limitation. Typically, apayer is a private individual, but it may alternatively be a public orprivate entity, such as a company, partnership or corporation. Use ofthe term “payer” is not intended to limit the activities performed orinitiated by the payer. For example, in an implementation of the presentinvention the payer may access their stored personal data to reviewand/or make changes, without actually making any payment.

As used herein, the terms “biller” refers to any entity desiring tosolicit payment from any payer, or collect updated information from anypayer, without limitation. Examples of billers are charities, serviceproviders, retail and wholesale businesses, utilities, etc.

As used herein, the terms “computer” or “computer system” refers to anycommonly used computer device having at least a processor, associatedmemory, and one or more input device, without limitation. The computermay be within the biller's office, or one used, or accessed remotely tohost the biller's accounting applications. Examples of computersinclude, but are not limited to, desktop computers, laptop computers,minicomputers, mobile devices, cellular telephones, and others. It isassumed all computers described herein incorporate an appropriateoperating system, any additional necessary software and any necessarycommunication interfaces.

The term “credit card”, as used herein in connection with systems,networks or transactions, is understood to include other similar systemsand transactions clearly and expressly limited in scope. Thus, adescription including the use of ‘credit card processing network’includes debit card processing networks as well as electronic checkprocessing networks (ACH).

Similarly, communication between system elements, for example, in figureitem nos. 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, and 138, isassumed to be over conventional communication lines and interfaces,without limitation.

The present invention advantageously provides a streamlined paymentprocess and system allowing payers to authorize payments without needingto login, thereby eliminating the need for the payer to remember a userid and password. It also advantageously provides for minimizing the datathat must be entered by the payer to make a payment.

The present invention also advantageously provides for billers andpayers to be assured that their correct balance due or donation amountis paid.

The present invention also advantageously provides for secure storage ofpayer account data for both credit and debit cards and ACH.

The present invention also advantageously provides a save process andauthorization form to encourage preauthorized recurring payments ordonations.

The present invention also advantageously provides a method of handlingcredit card data that meets credit card security standards, such as PCIand CISP standards.

The present invention also advantageously provides a method of uniquelyidentifying the payer so that a completed payment transaction can beautomatically associated with the correct payer account including anydesired payment or accounting classification.

The present invention also advantageously provides for using URLshortening technology to both hide data being passed in a secure URL andto generate a simple code that represents the underlying data. URLshortening is a technique on the World Wide Web in which a URL may bemade substantially shorter in length and still direct, to the requiredpage. This may be achieved by using an HTTP Redirect on a domain namethat is short, which links to the web page that has a long URL. This isespecially convenient for messaging technologies such as Twitter andIdenti.ca, which severely limit the number of characters that may beused in a message. Shortened URLs allow otherwise long web addresses tobe referred to in a tweet. Techniques for generating shortened URLs arewell known in the art, and there is thus not need to describe these ingreater detail herein. For example, see:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL_shortening.

The present invention also advantageously provides for generation anduse of a Quick Response (QR) code containing personalized secure URLdata, which is particularly useful when used with modern mobile devices.

The present invention also advantageously provides for the use of ShortMessage Service (SMS) messages to transmit personalized payment and/orinformation hyperlinks for the use of mobile-optimized web forms tofacilitate payment or updating of customer information.

FIG. 1 depicts and exemplary payment processing system 100. In anembodiment of the invention, a biller's computer 104 sends an emailedinvoice 101 to the payer's computer 106. It is understood that biller'scomputer 104 and payer's computer 106 may be any type of computersystem, including personal computers and even other electronic devicesenabled to communicate with other systems. Transmission 122, 120 of theemailed invoice from the biller's computer 104 to the payer's computer106 also may be by any common communication interface, such as viainternet email.

The emailed invoice 101 preferably includes a “pay online” hyperlink102, with a personalized URL including a “token” or other data thatuniquely identifies the payer, not depicted. The “token” or other datamay include any information and is intended to pre-populate the onlinepayment form fields and provide a key for obtaining stored payerinformation. The hyperlink 102 may also include data such as thebiller's desired general ledger accounting code for the payments.

Also in an embodiment, when the payer selects the “pay online”hyperlink, a payment form 108 is provided having some or all fields ofthe form 108 pre-populated by a secure payment form server 110. Thedegree of pre-population of the payment form 108 is determined by theamount of payer information available as part of the URL, from previoustransactions, or stored in the secure data vault accounting with thetoken.

The payer then may review the pre-populated data on the payment form108, correct, update, and/or add missing information. At this point, thepayer can enter payment information onto the payment form 108, such ascredit card, debit card, bank account or other payment information. Asdiscussed further below, in an embodiment of the invention, the payer'spayment information may have already been provided in the pre-populatedpayment form 108 by the secure payment form server 110, if the payer hadpreviously approved storing of the data.

Once the payment form 108 has been reviewed and, if necessary, correctedor completed by the payer to include payment method information, thepayer can submit the payment form 108 via the secure payment form server110, with the payment or card data 130 and other information being sentto an online payment gateway 112, and thereon onto a credit or debitcard network 116, direct debit (ACH) network 118 or other paymentprocessing network (not depicted), as appropriate. The online paymentgateway 112 is also communicatively connected 134 with a secure datavault 114, which may be used to record payment processing information.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a browser redirect techniqueis used whenever payment information is to be collected so that data isbeing entered directly on the gateway payment server rather than theform server. In this way the form server never directly processes ortransmits the card data, thus eliminating a potential point of PCI(“Payment Card Industry”) compliance failure.

Once the payment has been processed by the online payment gateway 112, atransaction record and an updated account “token” or other data ispassed 132 back to the secure payment form server 110, from which theprocessed transaction information is downloaded 126 by the biller'scomputer 104. This updated account token or other data is also used bythe secure payment form server to provide subsequent pre-populatedinformation for the payment form 108 when needed. The token data storedin the biller's computer and associated with a particular payer can alsobe used by a recurring billing system and/or by a “virtual terminal” foradditional one-time staff-processed payments.

FIG. 2( a) is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method 200 a of paymentprocessing. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,the process begins 202 when the biller emails the payer a billingstatement with an embedded “pay online” hyperlink 204. Although thepresent invention in this embodiment is described with reference to a“billing statement”, it is understood that other communications and/ordonation solicitations may alternatively be used. The payer then selectsthe “pay online” hyperlink 206, and the payer's token or other data isused to pre-populate the biller's custom online payment form 108 withpayer information 208, which is then presented to the payer 210.

Continuing with FIG. 2( b), in an embodiment of the invention, the payernext reviews the pre-populated data and provides information forpayment, such as credit card, debit card or banking account information214. If the payer has previously used the system with the biller, and ifthe payer has authorized the biller to retain payment information, thepayment information may already be pre-populated on the payment form108, in which case the payer needs only to review the information andauthorize payment.

In addition, in an embodiment of the invention, the payer is presentedwith an option to specify saving payment data to a secure hosted serverfor future transactions 216. In another embodiment, the payer ispresented with an option to authorize automatic recurring payment forfuture charges 218.

In one embodiment of the invention, the biller is provided with anoption to request that email notices of payments be sent to the biller'sorganizational contact 220 and/or the payer's email address.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 300 depicting an exemplary method of paymentprocessing including optional authorization of saving payment data. Inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the methodbegins 301 when the payer authorizes the saving of payment data to asecure hosted server for future transactions 302. Next, a token that islogically associated with payer's account data is generated and sent tothe secure form server 110 for downloads to biller's accounting system,and future use.

Subsequently, the next time the payer selects the “pay online” hyperlinkfor the biller, the biller's online payment form is populated with thepayer's data, including the payer's payment data 306.

FIG. 4( a) is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method of paymentprocessing including provision of email payment notices. In accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, the method starts 401 whenthe biller requests that email notices of payments be sent to thebiller's organizational contact 402. This request may be made by variousmeans, such as by an input field on the payment form 108, by an inputfield on another biller-provided form or web page, by prior agreementsuch as a contract, or by any other means, without limitation.

After the payer completes payment the email notice(s) are emailed to thebiller's organizational contact and payer's email 404.

FIG. 4( b) is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method of paymentprocessing including downloading of completed transaction records by abiller's organizational contact. In accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention, a biller's authorized organizational contact may loginto the secure server and download all or specific payers' completedtransaction records. In an embodiment of the invention the transactionrecords include the payer's “token”, as well as data such as a passedgeneral ledger accounting code.

The following is an example of a system embodying some aspects of thepresent invention, CLICK-TO-PAY™. It is described herein forillustrative purposes only.

CLICK-TO-PAY™ provides a “smart” pay online link in billing statementsthat are emailed to customers. The pay online link includes personalizedURL which includes a token and/or other data that uniquely identifiesthe payer. The link takes the payer to the organization's customizedonline payment form and transmits the token and other data to thepayment form so that stored information about the payer can be used topre-populate fields such as name, address, payment amount, etc. Thismethod can also be used to pass other data such as the appropriategeneral ledger or accounting code to associate with the paymenttransaction.

With all or most of the payers data pre-populated onto the payment form,the payer needs only to review that the data is correct and enter thedata for the credit card or other method of payment. Even the need toenter the credit card or bank account data can be eliminated viaCLICK-TO-PAY™'s option to save the account data to a hosted secureserver for use in future transactions. In addition, once payers elect tosave the account data, the CLICK-TO-PAY™ payment form can be configuredto offer the payer the option to authorize automatic recurring paymentfor future charges.

CLICK-TO-PAY™ also provides optional email notices to the biller and/orpayer when payments have been completed. The organization's billingcoordinator can log-in to the secure server to review all competedtransactions and approve them for download. The download process iscustomized to create a file that is appropriately formatted for updatingthe organizations accounting system

In an implementation of the invention, a method of improving andextending the use of personalized hyperlinks for online payments andother online constituent interactions is presented. The CLICK-TO-PAY™system may use URL shortening technology to both hide the data beingpassed as part of the secure URL and generate a short and simple codethat represents the underlying data. This makes the URL address easierto remember and enter into a web browser. URL shortening is commonlyused to generate short URLs to accommodate the space limitations formessaging technology such as Twitter. In this implementation, theshortened URL is also being used to eliminate exposing payer informationincluding the token within link.

In a further implementation, a Quick Response (QR) code may be used tofurther protect data security and remove the need for a payer to type ina URL or even shortened URL. QR codes are frequently used with mobiledevices to direct people to a particularly website. FIG. 6 provides anexemplary sample 600 of a QR code. The rows and columns of black andwhite squares provide a condensed way to store information, which isalso difficult for a human to meaningfully interpret without machineassistance.

In an embodiment of the invention, the CLICK-TO-PAY™ system may employshorten URLs and/or QR codes to provide additional functionality,security and ease of use. In particular, the exemplary system providesadditional protection for the data being conveyed, since the data doesnot need to directly be part of the URL. It also provides methods tocommunicate the personalized URL in printed and other non digitalcommunications. This short URL or QR code not only contains the datathat takes the payer to the online form, but also the referenceinformation to identify the individual and pre-populate the form withthe appropriate data. Thus, the exemplary system allows the dynamicretrieval of the individual's current information pertaining to thecommunication, e.g. current balance, or the like.

Use of a shortened URL and/or QR code provides numerous advantages, suchas, but not limited to: greater data security, the ability to use theshortened URL/QR code in printed communications, shorter URLs are lesslikely to be truncated or miscopied and are easier to remember, theability to pass an even greater amount of data for pre-population in aform, the ability to retrieve the most current data instead of staticdata. Use of a QR code in particular eliminates the need for a payer totype in a URL or shortened URL and speeds form access from mobiledevices.

In another embodiment of the invention, QR codes may be used containingthe personalized URL data to provide further data security and allow apayer to access and/or update their personalized data without the needto provide a login and password to access their information. Forexample, many organizations find it difficult to keep their records onpayers up to date, particularly information such as email addresses,mailing addresses, and phone numbers. Very frequently payers do notnotify the organization of changes and are not aware that theorganization does not have current information. One approach to tryingto keep the data updated is to provide payers a web-portal where theycan review and update their data. This approach has several challenges.For example, the portals require a payer to register and establish payernames and passwords in order to access their information, which oftendiscourages use and creates an additional administrative burden for thepayer. This approach is particularly ineffective when the payer havevery limited need or reason to access the portal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the same techniques of personalizedURLs described herein are used to drive payers to web forms where theirpersonalized data is pre-populated and conveniently displayed with theopportunity to correct and update it. In addition, the shortened URLsand/or QR codes may be employed, as well as intelligent links, to directthe payer to the form and identify the payer so that the form can bepre-populated with their most current data—again, without any need forlogin or payer authentication. This allows for the payer to be bothnotified and encouraged to update their information via both electronicand printed communications, eliminates the need to manage payer namesand passwords, does not require the organization to build or integrateportal functionality on website or even have a website, provides theability to present the payer with their most current data, as well asthe ability to ensure that updated data is associated with the correctconstituent. The use of a QR code eliminates the need to type the URLand speeds form access from mobile devices.

An exemplary method 500 of the present invention is presented in FIG. 5.In one implementation, a database of records 502 is accessed to generate504 a hyperlink (also referred to as a Smartlink) with a shortened URL,such as “DPURL.COM/GSENHQF”. Next, an email containing the Smartlinkshortened URL is generated 506 and sent to the payer (also referred toas the “recipient”). Additionally or optionally, a QR code may begenerated 508 and printed 510 and sent to the payer 512 as a printedmailing.

In a further step, the payer may enter the Smartlink shortened URL intotheir browser's address bar 514, or scan (not depicted) their QR codeinto their mobile device, such as by using a camera on the device inconjunction with specialized software—as is well known understood in themobile device and software arts and thus need not be described in detailherein. The form server then receives 516 the shortened URL or QR codeand retrieves the payer's stored data 518. The data may then bedisplayed to the payer with a pre-populated display form 520, which thepayer can then use to complete the transaction 522, and/or to updatetheir data 524, which is then saved 526 to the database of records.

In one exemplary method of payment processing, a payer is sent a billingstatement by a biller. The billing statement includes an online paymenthyperlink which includes a shortened URL personalized for the payer anda token uniquely identifying the payer. The payer then selects theonline payment hyperlink and is subsequently presented with the biller'sonline payment form, without the payer having to log in or preregister.The online payment form would preferably include data fieldspre-populated with available payer information derived from thepersonalized shortened URL and token. The online payment form is thenreviewed by the payer, who completes and corrects the data as needed.The completed online payment form may then be sent to a secure paymentform server by the payer, to complete the transaction.

In another exemplary method embodiment of the invention, a printedbilling statement, donation solicitation or other communication ismailed to a payer/constituent/customer by a biller/organization. Thebilling statement includes a QR code which incorporates an onlinepayment link including a shortened URL personalized for the payer, and atoken uniquely identifying the payer. Next, the payer images the QR codeusing a mobile communication device including a camera and an electroniccircuit controlling the device. Use of a mobile communications device isexemplary, and other devices may alternatively be employed. For example,a personal computer, laptop, notebook, tablet computer or otherelectronic having a camera and communication ability may also beemployed, without limitation.

Regardless of the device used, the QR code is then decoded by theelectronic circuit, and decoded QR code is then sent to a secure paymentform server. Next, the payer is presented with the biller's onlinepayment form on the mobile communication device. The online payment formincludes data fields pre-populated with the available payer informationderived from the personalized shortened URL and token. The payer maythen review the online payment form by the payer, completing and/orcorrecting data as needed. The payer may then send the completed onlinepayment form to the secure payment form server. In another embodiment ofthe invention, the payer may elect to simply correct data withoutauthorizing a payment.

An embodiment of the invention presents an improved CLICK-TO-PAY™ usingShort Message Service (SMS) or text messaging to transmit thepersonalized URL. This embodiment provides for the use of URL shorteningto ensure that the URL does not exceed the 160 character limitation forSMS messages, while still allowing the URL to provide extensivepersonalization data to the web page. In some embodiments of theinvention, the URL displays a form that has been optimized for viewingand use on a mobile device.

SMS is most commonly used to send messages between two parties.Mobile-optimized web pages are used to view information via a mobiledevice. The combined use of SMS and mobile-optimized web pages providesusers of an embodiment of the inventive system and method withadditional functionality, including: providing an additional convenientway to notify a customer or constituent of the need or opportunity tomake a payment or update information; improving the convenience ofmaking a payment or updating information since the short URL not onlycontains the data that takes the visitor to the mobile-optimized onlineform, but also includes the reference information to identify theindividual and pre-populate the form with the appropriate data, thuseliminating the need to enter information via the normally smallerkeyboard available on a mobile device; and, dynamically retrieving theindividual's current information pertaining to the communication, suchas, but not limited to, current balance.

The use of SMS messaging and mobile-optimized web pages alsoadvantageously: provides for greater speed and convenience forcustomers, which leads to higher usage; is able to pass virtuallyunlimited data for pre-population in a form despite the characterlimitations of SMS; is able to retrieve the most current data instead ofstatic data; may use QR codes to eliminate the need to type the URL, andspeeds form access from mobile devices; and, there is still no need fora customer to login and remember passwords, and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 7, a payment/informationprocessing method 700 is provided. The process begins with step 701 andproceeds to step 702, where an electronic circuit of a mobilecommunication device receives a payment/information processing statementfor a customer by a short message service (SMS) message—thepayment/information processing statement includes an onlinepayment/information URL personalized to uniquely identify the customer.Next, at step 704 the online payment/information URL is extracted fromthe SMS message, and at step 706 a mobile-optimized web page is accessedusing the online payment/information URL. A customer's onlinepayment/information form is then received at step 708, and displayed onthe mobile communication device—without the customer logging in orpreregistering. The online payment/information form includes data fieldspre-populated with available customer information derived from theonline payment/information URL. After completing the onlinepayment/information form by the customer at step 710, the completedonline payment/information form is sent to a secure payment form serverin step 712, completing 714 the process. In an embodiment of theinvention, the payment/information processing further includesforwarding a payment from the customer to a biller.

In one embodiment of the invention (not depicted), a customerinformation database is updated with customer data.

Another embodiment of the invention presents the use of a personalizedpayment hyperlink to register credit card, bank account, or similarfinancial information for future use. This embodiment provides forimproving and extending the use of personalized hyperlinks for online ormobile payments—i.e., payments made over a mobile communicationdevice—and other online interactions. In one embodiment, thisimprovement over CLICK-TO-PAY™ provides an online or mobile-optimizedform to collect credit card or other payment method data for future use.The payment method data is then posted to a secure gateway, wherevalidation may be performed. After validation, the gateway returns atoken that can be associated with the customer, such as with the dataprovided as part of the personalized or shortened URL. This paymenttoken can then be used to initiate payment transactions at a futuretime.

For example, a common challenge at fundraising events, particularlythose involving silent auctions, is the need to collect and processpayments at the end of the event. This can result in long waits atcheckout and unhappy customers. Overwhelmed and rushed staff members arealso more likely to make errors. An embodiment of the inventioneliminates the need to swipe or enter credit card data at the event,since the participants can pre-register their cards via CLICK-TO-PAY™links sent to them by email or SMS message prior to the event.

The use of the personalized payment hyperlink to register financialpayment means also provides numerous advantages, including: the abilityto either automatically process payments for winning bids or send emailor text messages to allow winners to approve the transaction; increasedspeed and convenience for event participants and staff; reduction inevent staffing needs; elimination of the need to swipe or authorizecards at an event; reduction of non-qualification surcharges that canresult from non-timely settlement of credit card authorizations; and,storage of payment information which can also be used for futurecustomer payments unrelated to the event or auction.

In an exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 8, a method 800 forregistering financial payment information is provided. The processbegins at step 801 and proceeds to step 802, where an electronic circuitof a mobile communication device receives a mobile-optimized financialpayment information form for a customer, which is then filled in by thecustomer with financial payment information 804, such as but not limitedto credit card information. Next, the financial payment data is postedto a secure gateway for validation 806, and, upon validation, apersonalized URL associated with the customer and validated financialpayment data is received 808 by the electronic circuit of the mobiledevice.

In a further embodiment, the personalized URL may then be sent 810, forexample by email or an SMS message, to a payee to render payment,completing the process 812.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A payment/information processing methodcomprising: receiving, by an electronic circuit of a mobilecommunication device, a payment/information processing statement for acustomer by a short message service (SMS) message, thepayment/information processing statement comprising an onlinepayment/information URL personalized to uniquely identify the customer;extracting the online payment/information URL from the SMS message bythe electronic circuit; accessing a mobile-optimized web page using theonline payment/information URL, by the electronic circuit; receiving acustomer's online payment/information form by the electronic circuit;displaying the online payment/information form on the mobilecommunication device without the customer logging in or preregistering,the online payment/information form comprising data fields pre-populatedwith available customer information derived from the onlinepayment/information URL; completing data in the onlinepayment/information form as needed by the customer; and sending thecompleted online payment/information form to a secure payment formserver.
 2. The payment/information processing method according to claim1, further comprising forwarding a payment from the customer to abiller.
 3. The payment processing/information processing methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising updating customer informationin a database with information from the completed onlinepayment/information form.
 4. A method for registering financial paymentinformation comprising: receiving, by an electronic circuit of a mobilecommunication device, a mobile-optimized financial payment informationform for a customer, receiving, by the electronic circuit, financialpayment data input from the customer; posting, by the electroniccircuit, the financial payment data input from the customer to a securegateway for validation; and, receiving, by the electronic circuit, apersonalized URL associated with the customer and validated financialpayment data.
 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:sending, by the electronic device, an SMS message to a payee, the SMSmessage comprising the personalized URL associated with the customer andvalidated financial payment data.
 6. A payment/information processingsystem comprising: a mobile communication device comprising anelectronic circuit, display device, input device, and associatedelectronic memory and power supply, the electronic circuit and memoryconfigured to perform the step of: receiving a payment/informationprocessing statement for a customer by a short message service (SMS)message, the payment/information processing statement comprising anonline payment/information URL personalized to uniquely identify thecustomer; extracting the online payment/information URL from the SMSmessage; accessing a mobile-optimized web page using the onlinepayment/information URL; receiving a customer's onlinepayment/information form by the electronic circuit; displaying theonline payment/information form on the display without the customerlogging in or preregistering, the online payment/information formcomprising data fields pre-populated with available customer informationderived from the online payment/information URL; completing data in theonline payment/information form as needed by the customer; and sendingthe completed online payment/information form to the secure payment formserver.
 7. The system according to claim 6, further comprisingforwarding a payment from the customer to a biller.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 6, further comprising updating customer informationin a database with information from the completed onlinepayment/information form.
 9. The system according to claim 8, whereinthe information is financial payment information, further comprising thesteps of: receiving a mobile-optimized financial payment informationform for a customer, receiving financial payment data input from thecustomer; posting the financial payment data input from the customer toa secure gateway for validation; and, receiving a personalized URLassociated with the customer and validated financial payment data. 10.The system according to claim 9, further comprising the step of: sendingan SMS message to a payee, the SMS message comprising the personalizedURL associated with the customer and validated financial payment data.